John,
I'll assume that the "MD" which follows your name is NOT the postal abbreviation for Maryland. Given that, I'll identify the "green" preservatives for you, and you'll see that none are suited for a closed space that will hold live people.
Older preservatives that were green in color, like Cuprinol and Woodlife, contained copper napthanate. The military used it in huge quantities. It was found to be carcinogenic, and was discontinued. It gasses off badly,
and most older batches of green stuff that you would likely find in surplus containers is probably this substance.
Later green preservatives contain copper chrome arsenite, usually referred to as "CCA" in wood jargon. This chemical has been linked to childhood leukemia. It is the stuff that your green landscape timbers are treated with. It is not that effective unless driven into the wood to a density of .4 pounds of CCA per cubic foot of wood. You can't do that by brushing or spraying.
My suggestion for treatment of your van floor would come down to two modern processes.
The first, and best, (least toxic) would be common sodium borate treatment. It is permanent, doesn't leach too badly, and is not only rot resistant, but also insect resistant. It IS possible to get boron poisoning, but you would probably have to ingest the stuff for this to happen. A lot of consumer soap products contain sodium borate, (common borax) and it has never been linked with illness that I know of. It does not discolor the wood, and any finish may be used over it. Pretreated lumber is readily available at home centers. Ask for borate treated stock.
The second product is made by Flood, and is intended for treating any outdoor wood product. Flood calls it "clear wood preservative". The active ingredients are carried in a very low viscosity solvent, which evaporates cleanly and leaves behind the treatment. One flooded coat is all that is required. I use this on my truck and trailer wood parts with good results. The only downside to this is the necessity to use it outdoors or with good ventilation, as the solvent will evaporate.
I hope this was helpful!
Regards,
CJ
In a message dated Fri, 12 Oct 2001 10:28:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "John Freeman,MD" <trainer18d@yahoo.com> writes:
> GROUP:
> Can use information on sources of wood preservative
> for my M109 van floor.I recall a green copper based
> liquid we used on garden timbers,but these days the
> consumer oriented stores seem only to stock worthless
> deck stain.Is there a good source for surplus
> preservative that works?
> john Freeman
>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Dec 07 2001 - 00:36:25 PST